Old rivals clash in Sun Bowl

Miami, Notre Dame meet for first time since 1990

When Notre Dame and Miami finished a series of high-profile matchups between perennial national title contenders in 1990, neither school could have figured the next meeting would take 20 years to happen -- and would ultimately occur on a stage like the Sun Bowl.

These struggling programs will be unsatisfied to finish the year in El Paso, Texas, on Friday, a fact the Hurricanes made especially clear when they fired coach Randy Shannon last month, leaving Jeff Stoutland to fill in on an interim basis against the Fighting Irish.

"Nobody has their eyes set on the Sun Bowl when you start the season. Nobody does," first-year Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. "But you are playing Miami in a bowl game, it sold out in 24 hours, it's a great matchup that goes back so many years."

Kelly's matchup with Stoutland won't quite have the cachet of the showdowns between Jimmy Johnson's Miami teams and Lou Holtz's Irish in the late 1980s. Notre Dame hired Holtz after Johnson and Miami ended coach Gerry Faust's tenure with a 58-7 rout in 1985.

The teams split four more meetings between 1987-90, including the Hurricanes' 24-0 win en route to the 1987 national championship. Notre Dame's 31-30 victory the next year snapped Miami's 36-game regular-season winning streak and helped the Irish claim their most recent NCAA title.

Their last clash was a 29-20 Irish win Oct. 20, 1990, but Stoutland said that despite the 20-year hiatus -- and each team's 7-5 record -- the rivalry still carries extra significance.

"If I wasn't involved in this game, this game, Miami versus Notre Dame, would be a game I would definitely watch," Stoutland said.

Stoutland, who had triple-bypass surgery in May before his fourth season as Miami's offensive line coach, will serve a one-game stint as head coach.

Shannon was fired Nov. 27 after a 23-20 overtime loss to South Florida. He went 28-22 in four seasons and was unable to lead the Hurricanes to an ACC title game or a bowl win.

Miami announced Dec. 12 that it would hire Al Golden, who engineered an impressive turnaround of Temple's program.

"There's no doubt in my mind that he'll be the head coach at the University of Miami long-term," athletic director Kirby Hocutt said. "Al Golden is very loyal and he wants to be at the University of Miami. He wants to build this program back to the pinnacle of college football."

Notre Dame, 23-26 since the start of 2007, was trying to do the same when it fired Charlie Weis last year, but the results didn't improve much during Kelly's first season, which included a 1-3 start.

The Irish lost quarterback Dayne Crist (knee), running back Armando Allen (hip) and tight end Kyle Rudolph (hamstring) to season-ending injuries, but freshman QB Tommy Rees led them to a three-game winning streak to close the regular season -- including a 28-3 win over then-No. 15 Utah and a 20-16 victory at rival Southern California.

Notre Dame's defense, led by linebacker Manti Te'o, has held opponents to 233.3 yards per game during the winning streak after they averaged 393.1 before that.

"Our kids never blinked," Kelly said. "They kept playing hard. They kept competing. That's why we are where we are."

Miami -- ranked 13th in the preseason -- wasn't nearly as happy to finish with back-to-back home losses, including 31-17 to then-No. 14 Virginia Tech on Nov. 20.

It's unclear how the Hurricanes will respond to the firing of Shannon, which surprised some of the players.

Harris returned against South Florida after missing three games due to a concussion, replacing Stephen Morris in the third quarter, but he threw a costly interception late in regulation. He has 13 touchdowns and five INTs while leading Miami to five wins, but one TD and seven picks in four losses.

It's unclear whether Harris or Morris will start against Notre Dame, but either will surely be looking for Leonard Hankerson, who broke Michael Irvin's school record with 12 touchdown receptions this season. Miami also has plenty of talent on a defense that ranks second nationally against the pass and eighth with 37 sacks.

"We're a better team than our record is," Stoutland said. "I know that. We all know that. We have great kids here."

Notre Dame has a 15-7-1 lead in the series, which has three more games scheduled -- the next one at Soldier Field in 2012. But Irish nose guard Ian Williams, who expects to return from a knee injury, downplayed the rivalry's significance for the players.

"I don't think it will matter at all. We're going to be excited to play whoever, wherever we went," Williams said. "I think the exciting part is ... more for the fans because it's a historic rivalry."

Notre Dame (7-5) vs. Miami (FL) (7-5), 2 p.m. Friday on CBS

Series Record: Notre Dame leads 15-7-1.

Last Meeting: Notre Dame 29-20 on Oct. 20, 1990, in South Bend, Ind.

What's at Stake
Bragging rights in one of college football’s storied but dormant rivalries. The series was huge in the 1980s, with at least one team ranked in the Top 10 in the five most recent meetings. The teams play in 2012 in Chicago, followed by a home-and-home series that goes to South Bend in 2016 and to Miami in 2017.

Key Matchup
Notre Dame LB Manti Te’o against Miami RB Damien Berry, who led the Hurricanes with 865 yards rushing this season. Te’o was Notre Dame’s season leader with 127 tackles and started all 12 games. The Irish defenders had a three-game stretch where they didn’t give up an offensive TD.

Players to Watch
Notre Dame: QB Tommy Rees. The freshman started the last three regular season games and led the Irish to victories over Utah, Army and USC. Rees took over when Dayne Crist had a season-ending injury against Tulsa and became the first Irish freshman to throw four TD passes in a game.

Miami: CB Brandon Harris, a standout cover specialist who had two interceptions and ranked third on the Hurricanes this season with 52 tackles. Harris led the way as Miami finished the regular season ranked second in the nation behind TCU in pass efficiency defense.

Facts and Figures
Al Golden, hired Dec. 12 as Miami’s new coach, will attend the Sun Bowl but won’t be on the sidelines. Interim coach Jeff Stoutland, who took over after Randy Shannon was fired, will continue to direct the Hurricanes. … The Irish are making their 30th bowl appearance. The Sun Bowl marks the 12th different game. … The Canes have reached the postseason 24 times over the past 27 years but are trying to break a two-game bowl losing skid, winless since beating Nevada 21-20 in the MPC Computers Bowl in 2006. … Notre Dame, under coach Lou Holtz, beat the top-ranked Canes 31-30 on Oct. 15, 1988, snapping Miami’s 36-game regular season winning streak and went on to finish 12-0 and win the national title. The next year, Miami under Dennis Erickson ended Notre Dame’s school-record 23-game winning streak and won the national championship at 11-1. … Miami RB Mike James spent the week at his New Jersey home. Because of snow, he was unable to travel after his mother’s death in a car accident. Stoutland said James will play, regardless of when he arrives.